Nebraskans Residents Alerted to Tax Refund E-mail Scam

Jon Bruning, Attorney General of Nebraskans (USA), cautioned consumers on April 5, 2010 that they must not fall prey to an ongoing tax refund campaign aiming at citizens with fraudulent e-mails, as per the news published by KCAU-TV on April 5, 2010.

The AG says that the malicious campaign involves an e-mail, which contains the IRS logo and also copies a real IRS website which tells the recipient that he's due for a refund. Subsequently, the e-mail directs him onto a Web form which prompts him to enter personal information like payment card number, its 3-digit security code, expiration date and ATM PIN.

Bruning further states that the mentioned scam is uncommon because of its similarity with the real IRS site. But, IRS won't ever solicit payment card details over e-mail; consequently. end-users must instantly notify authorities in case of any such contact, he adds.

According to the Office of the Attorney General, whenever the IRS wants to interact with taxpayers, it does so via the U.S Postal Service, never through e-mail. The AG also suggested that anybody who has been hit with the e-mail scam should formally complain at the Office of the state Attorney General.

Moreover, the IRS posted on its website, irs.gov, that it does not dispatch any unsolicited e-mail. Nor it discusses details about any tax account through e-mail. The agency never uses e-mails to get users' financial or other personal information. Additionally, it never asks for security information of financial accounts like 'Personal Identification Number.'

Hence, according to security researchers, the e-mails belong to a phishing campaign that tries to gather people's financial details so as to carry out identity theft.

Meanwhile, a similar happening drew media's attention, when Floyd County (U.S.) residents complained of getting suspicious e-mails purporting to be from an IRS official, according to the news published by NEWSANDTRIBUNE.com during the last week of March 2010.

Thus, security researchers warned the general public that in case anyone receives an e-mail claiming to be an IRS message with a tax-refund offer, he must know that it's a fraud. And, without opening the e-mail, that person should forward it to IRS at phishing@irs.gov.